The Huffington Post is huffing about rumors of talks between the owners of The Onion and media giant Viacom. It even made Variety. But the good people in the Onion organization (on the editorial side, it’s worth mentioning) are trying to put the kabosh on the chatter. Scott Tobias of the AV Club writes:
“I’m the Film Editor of The A.V. Club section of The Onion. This rumor started on Huffington Post and has just been raging out of control, but upper management has assured us that it’s just a rumor and that we intend to proceed (and continue to expand) as the independent publication we’ve always been. What a strange trickle-up effect this gossip has had: It started with a line in blog, worded its way around to other blogs, sneaks into Variety, and now finds its way into The New York Times.
Has anyone bothered, you know, actually *confirming* this story? Or is that just a stodgy “Old Journalism” way of doing things?”
The Apiary cites their own source deep inside the Onion machine with similar comments.
Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if it came true — seems to make a lot of sense on all sides. The Onion gets some exposure and operating money. Viacom gets one of the web’s strongest brands. After all, the paper “sold out” a number of years ago, when it was purchased by investors from its cash-strapped owners. And several old-school Onion staffers have moved on to, among other places, the Viacom-owned Daily Show. This would be a natural evolution. But we’ll see. In any event, I think we can continue to expect a high-quality product.
Who knows, maybe our own mole, upcoming Sound of Young America GUEST BLOGGER Joe Garden of The Onion will shed some light in a week or two.